Bug#511544: ffmpeg: Please support VDPAU

[Reinhard Tartler]

clone 511544 -1
reassign -1 wnpp
retitle -1 RFP: please package the VDPAU adaptation library
block 511544 by -1
severity -1 normal
stop

Tony Houghton <h at realh.co.uk> writes:

> NVidia drivers with VDPAU support are just about to become available in
> experimental (see #501668 and #511524). Would it be possible to release
> ffmpeg packages with VDPAU asap because I keep running into difficulties
> going up the chain from drivers through libraries to applications,
> trying to compile my own to be able to use VDPAU.
>
> I realise this could be tricky because I don't suppose you really want
> ffmpeg in general to depend on nvidia-glx.

this is not possible to do at this point, because in order to enable
VDPAU support, the headers need the be available. since the headers are
currently in non-free, there is no way for ffmpeg to build depend on
that.

the next problem is the license of the VDPAU libraries, I imagine.

nvidia has already been approached by mandriva and ubuntu, and they are
considering releasing the adaptation library seperatly under a free
license.  The adaptation library is a very small library that is
supposed to dispatch request to different VDPAU implementation. Nvidia
wants to invite other driver developers to develop other implementation
for other hardware, but AFAIUI, there is only the (non-free) nvidia
one. Currently this adaptation library is included into
nvidia-glx. Factoring it out to a package in main would be a prequesite
for enabling VDPAU support in ubuntu. Until this happens, I'd suggest
compiling ffmpeg from svn.

-- 
Gruesse/greetings,
Reinhard Tartler, KeyID 945348A4